Get Ready for a Big Friday!

We’re getting down to crunch time here. There’s only a little time left for you to give to the memory walk. Don’t wait… give now… Give here.

I finally join the freakin’ “i” world and what do you know… Steve Jobs died. Word reached me Wednesday night that the Apple Co-founder had passed away. He helped create a bunch of cool stuff. RIP Steve Jobs.

Hey sports fans… there’s a little known secret about me. I prefer to use plastic cups when I’m at home. Not the red, throw away cups… but the kind of plastic cups that you get at a sporting event. I would rather have small to medium size cups, but large cups are ok too. I tell you this on the off chance that you get one of these “souvenir” type cups the next time you are at a game and decide you don’t want to keep the cup. Don’t throw it away… keep it and give it to me. Who knows, maybe I will say nice things about you on here if you hook me up.

This Friday is a big day… James Island is making the trip up to Summerville for a good old fashioned football game. I’m going to try to make it out there for it. Sure would be nice if I had tickets. If only I had friends who had season tickets… I’m just sayin…

Anyway, back to the game. When these two teams get together, you can throw the record books out. Which is good, because I don’t think the record books would be too kind to my Trojans. I don’t know if James Island has ever beaten Summerville, but I know I haven’t seen it (though to be honest, I haven’t been to many JI/Summerville games). The match-up this season has many storylines. The biggest one is that this is the match-up between James Island’s first year head coach Randy Hilyer and looooooooooooong-time Summerville coach John McKissick. It’s a little known fact to people outside of Summerville that McKissick created football… after he created the Earth and the stars and all that. Let’s just say they think highly of him. And why shouldn’t they, I guess. After all, he did coach their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents and great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents… you get the idea. Something everyone outside of Summerville knows, but nobody within Summerville wants to admit, is that Coach McKissick has been voted the best recruiter in South Carolina for the past sixty years straight (they didn’t start voting on it until 1951). Word on the street is that the only reason Sammy Watkins is at Clemson right now is because McKissick didn’t want him at Summerville this year. One smaller storyline is the fact that this will be a game of grown men against teenage boys. The elementary schools around here have a form that you have to fill out stating where your son will attend high school. All the boys who are slated to attend Summerville High have to take Weightlifting and Football 101 from 12:00 – 2:00pm every day. This may or may not be true… I can’t confirm that at this time.

Did you know that McKissick never used the Shotgun formation until my good friend Danny made the team as a Center? Legend has it that one year at Sertoma after Danny got into the game, the Green Wave had 5 straight false starts by the young Center. McKissick called timeout and had young Danny come over to the sidelines for a chat. While there is no formal record of what was said that fateful night, I believe it went something like this:

Coach: “Son, what seems to be the problem out there?”

Danny (in a wavering, slightly high voice): “Coach, the QB keeps touching me”.

Coach: “Now Danny, that’s how you play the game. The QB puts his hands under the Center”.

Danny: “I know Coach… but he’s got his top hand turned the wrong way! Can’t he just stand a few yards behind me?”

Coach: “Alright, son… I guess that’s probably a good idea”.

This is my last post of the week, so I’ll go ahead and wish my brother-in-law Michael a happy birthday (his birthday is Friday). Happy Birthday Michael!

The I’m just sayin... Football Predictions

High School
James Island at Summerville – TR! OJ! A! N! S! The law of averages says that James Island will win this game at some point… this might as well be the point. I’m picking the Trojans to win this game.

Ashley Ridge at Colleton County – I think Ashley Ridge will win this one.

Dorman vs. Boiling Springs – I think Dorman will win this one.

College
#18USC vs. Kentucky – 12:21pm (SEC Network) – I think the Revolutionary War Heroes will bounce back from their heartbreaking loss to Auburn to win this game. Having said that, I am a little worried about this game after hearing my boy Melvin Ingram is hurt and might miss the game. This kills the idea I had that USC put Ingram at QB and just have either him or Lattimore run the ball. Would that be a high-powered offense? Probably not… but it would be better than what they had out there last week.

#8Clemson vs. Boston College – 3:00pm (Raycom) – This is the kind of game that would trip Clemson up in the past, but I think this year could be different. I’m going to pick the Tigers to win this one at home.

Navy vs. Southern Miss – 3:30pm (CBS Sports Network) – I pick Navy to win.

CSU at VMI – 1:30pm (ESPN3) – CSU will have to win two games in a row before I pick them to win again. So, I’m picking VMI to win this game.

Wyoming at Utah State – 6:00pm MT – This will be a tough game on the road for the Cowboys. I think Utah State will win this in a close game.

Appalachian State at The Citadel – 2:00pm – I pick Appalachian State to win this game. Sorry, DG.

NFL
Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee - 1:00pm (CBS) – The Steelers are hurting right now… and I’m hurting because I’m picking Tennessee to win this game.

Miami – Bye.

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Second Lieutenant Robert G. Carter (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on October 10, 1871 on Brazos River, Texas. His citation reads:

Held the left of the line with a few men during the charge of a large body of Indians, after the right of the line had retreated, and by delivering a rapid fire succeeded in checking the enemy until other troops came to the rescue.

First Lieutenant William H. Carter (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on August 30, 1881 at Cibicu, Arizona. His citation reads:

Rescued, with the voluntary assistance of 2 soldiers, the wounded from under a heavy fire.

Private Orlando E. Caruana (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on March 14, 1862 at New Bern, North Carolina and September 14, 1862 at South Mountain, Maryland. His citation reads:

At New Bern, N.C., brought off the wounded color sergeant and the colors under a heavy fire of the enemy. Was one of four soldiers who volunteered to determine the position of the enemy at South Mountain, Md. While so engaged was fired upon and his three companions killed, but he escaped and rejoined his command in safety.